The present invention is related to audio systems and, in particular, to apparatus and method for automatically recognizing a particular information report or update being broadcast over a radio station while listening to another audio source device, and for switching to the radio station when the desired information report is detected.
When listening to an audio source such as a tape player, Compact Disk (CD) player or the like, a person may want to get an information report or update on the latest news, traffic, sports, weather or time, for example. In this situation, one option for the person to pursue is to switch to an AM/FM receiver or radio device, find a radio station and hope that the desired information report will be broadcast soon. Obviously, the person is at the mercy of a program format used by the radio station and may wait (and suffer through the dull program content) for a considerable amount of time before the desired information is transmitted. In addition to inconvenience caused by the interruption in listening to the tape or CD, the person may be driving a car and wanting to obtain a traffic update immediately. By the time the traffic report is heard on the randomly selected radio station, however, it may be too late, resulting in unnecessary delay and frustration.
Alternatively, after switching to the AM/FM receiver, the person may scan radio stations available for reception in the area for the desired information report. This procedure will require either manually tuning to the radio stations, which is a time consuming procedure and may create a safety hazard by requiring the person to take his/her eyes off the road when he/she is driving; or using an automatic scan feature available in receivers, which also demands the person's attention (creating a dangerous situation when driving, for example) by requiring that the automatic scanning be timely stopped before the tuner "jumps" to the next radio station, once the desired information update is found.